1. Field of Invention
The present invention is directed to a navigational method and system for 1). storing spatial and non-spatial related information; 2). referencing or linking spatial and non-spatial related information (i.e., stop points, images, forms, e-mail or instant messages, voice recordings, waypoints, etc.); 3). retrieving both spatial and non-spatial related information; 4). graphically displaying spatial and non-spatial related information in a temporal or indexed format; 5). utilizing spatial and non-spatial related information with a route or trip planner; and 6). allowing the capability to share spatial and non-spatial related information amongst multiple users.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computerized mapping software is achieving widespread use today. Such mapping programs are commonly used to automate tasks of calculating routes, viewing location-specific geographical areas for their spatial content, such as addresses, roadways, rivers, etc., and for the purpose of being used with Global Positioning System (GPS) devices for various applications, such as a personal navigation application. Mapping software programs apply to a wide variety of uses, such as personal navigation, telematics, thematic mapping, resource planning, routing, fleet tracking, safety dispatching (i.e., Police, Fire, and Rescue organizations), and a wide variety of specialized Geographic Information System (GIS) applications, all of which are well known to people skilled in the art.
Real-time communication networks today also provide the ability to transfer, in real-time, voice and data information from various mobile devices, such as wireless phones, telemetry devices, or the like, to a multitude of other devices, either mobile or stationary, all of which are well known to people that are skilled in the art. For example, GPS devices that are connected to a wireless MODEM are able to transfer their position coordinates, such as latitude and longitude, wirelessly to a computer or server for later retrieval or real-time viewing of said information. Current applications that integrate or combine mapping, real-time communication capabilities, and position devices, for various computing devices are well known to people skilled in the art. These applications are referred to by various terminologies, including, but not limited to Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), Location-Based Services (LBS), Fleet Tracking Systems, etc., all of which are well known to people skilled in the art.
Prior art systems, such as AVL systems, typically involve a positioning device connected to a wireless MODEM sending location information, amongst other telemetry information, at discrete time intervals to a computer for the viewing of said information. This monitoring, or tracking, of real-time location information or of location-history information is sometimes referred to as the breadcrumb trail or history information of the mobile device, since it illustrates the current and/or previous locations that the mobile device has been in space and time. The problem with prior art is that the ‘breadcrumb’ trail or location history information provides the user with either too much information or not enough. When too much information is present, the user does not realize that such information exists until they request it. Also, it is important to be able to provide a way for a user to a-priori realize that the time range the user is requesting location information for has little or no data present, which prior art systems fail to provide. The prior art systems do not provide a graphical way to maneuver around location history information.
Typically, location history information, or Meta data, has no unique association to other location relevant data, such as a digital photograph that has location information associated with it. Additionally, there is no way for the prior art applications to group raw location data, typically referred to as detailed location data in the art, for the purpose of providing a graphical temporal view, such as a Calendar or Gantt view, for access to various types of Meta data, including location-specific and non-location-specific Meta data.
Thus, a need exits for a method and system that allows the ability to store spatial and non-spatial related Meta data, reference or link spatial and non-spatial related Meta data, while providing a graphical display for viewing spatial and non-spatial related information in a temporal or indexed format, such as a Calendar or Gantt view, and provide a method and system for retrieving both spatial and non-spatial related Meta data. This provides many important benefits for GPS-related devices, such as GPS-enabled wireless cell phones with integrated cameras, that transmit spatial (i.e., location) and non-spatial information (i.e., images, forms, e-mail or instant messages, voice recordings, waypoints, etc.) for the purpose of utilizing Meta information in a powerful graphical application.